A Boost for Affordable Housing
Affordable housing got a boost recently when a federal judge agreed to allow local nonprofit groups to develop projects with $17.5 million from the Century Freeway replacement housing fund. The community groups will also get technical assistance and private investment from the Local Initiatives Support Corp. That combination should allow 500 townhouses, condominiums and apartments to get built quickly, and for fewer public dollars.
The Century Freeway was envisioned as more than 17.3 miles of traffic lanes between Norwalk and the eastern edge of LAX. The project also included an unusual commitment to jobs, training, affirmative action and replacement housing for the residents of 7,000 homes that were razed to make way for the freeway. It was intended, according to the judge overseeing the controversy, as a highway “that had a heart.” The state paid off tenants and homeowners, but also promised to replace half of the housing that was destroyed.
Despite good intentions, the housing program, run by a small state agency, got bogged down by inexperience and layers of bureaucracy. At various steps along the way, the projects required approvals from the Federal Highway Administration and Caltrans, two government agencies that know a lot about highways and little about housing.
The housing program slowly produced, as a series in The Times pointed out nearly three years ago, poorly built, badly located or half-empty apartments and condominiums. The tenants’ lawyer, John Phillips of the Center for Law in the Public Interest, argued justifiably that a public-private partnership could do better.
The new arrangement was approved last week by U.S. Circuit Judge Harry Pregerson, who has overseen this case for 18 years. It allocates a fraction of the remaining $126 million in federal funds to nonprofit developers. LISC will add private dollars raised from tax incentives to triple the number of units.
Developing low-income housing is not an easy task. Giving any part of that job to nonprofit developers should pay off quickly--with more affordable housing.
